


Rock Bottom

by crash-queen aka stelleshine (stelleshine)



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Friends to Lovers, KFC, LA, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-11
Updated: 2016-10-11
Packaged: 2018-08-21 21:09:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8260583
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stelleshine/pseuds/crash-queen%20aka%20stelleshine
Summary: Moving to LA with Calum was supposed to be a great idea, but reality was smacking into Ashton like a bitch slap he didn't ask for. If that wasn't bad enough, he was running out of money, his crush on Calum wasn't getting any easier to handle, and his roommates' suggestion to combat their financial situation was threatening to break his heart completely.OR
Calum and Ashton are broke, so Calum suggests they get fake engaged at KFC for a free meal. Prompt from Tumblr.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CalumSmiles (dreamforlife)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamforlife/gifts).



Ashton Irwin isn’t really the responsible lad he convinced his mother he was, when he decided to leave Sydney, and move to Los Angeles.

He’d assured her he’d be _fine_ , he was twenty-one, he had a couple grand in the bank and an apartment already lined up, and his best mate Calum by his side.

And that’s really as far as he’d thought.

He managed to organize a job – cash in hand to empty trash cans at a recording studio on Sunset Boulevard – and he thought that’d be _enough_.

But looking at the gas bill he had in his hand, with the world OVERDUE stamped in huge, bright red letters, he knew he was drowning – and fast.

Because even though Calum’s job was slightly better – running errands for an egotistical jerk who was apparently famous on MTV – it wasn’t really cutting it. Because they’d let the gas bill run over for the last little while, and their electricity was close to being shut off, and they’d been having cold showers for the last three days because apparently the billing department wouldn’t really take _I promise I’ll pay it soon_ as a reputable source of impending bill payment.

So now Ashton was looking at the meagre amount of money he and Calum had scraped in, and tried to divide it up between their bills, and they’d be _fine_ , if they could stop buying food.

As it was, Ashton was depending on picking at the craft services table at work for his lunch, and he’d stooped to by the off-brand cheerios for breakfast, and a lot of the time Ashton was snacking on fruit – which was surprisingly affordable – for dinner.

He knew they only had to wait a month or two.

Until their childhood mates from home made the move too, and then they were really going to give the band a go. But Ashton couldn’t depend on Michael and Luke to fill their bellies when the two of them were still scraping together funds for the plane ride over.

Ashton had an in with a producer who frequented the studios he worked out. Ashton had known him before the man had introduced himself. He had a salt-and-pepper beard and a wide smile, and Ashton was kind of in love with John Feldman three seconds into meeting him.

He hadn’t missed a beat when Ashton shyly offered their demo to him, and he insisted he’d listen to it and tell him what he thought.

That was two weeks ago, but the hopeful part of Ashton didn’t want to think negatively. John Feldman would _love_ 5 Seconds of Summer, he was sure of it.

But there was no point thinking that far ahead when he was _starving_ , and Calum was leeching whatever lukewarm water they had in the bathroom and Ashton knew that hoping for a hot shower was a pipe dream as the pipes creaked loudly as Calum shut the water off.

He let out a desperate sigh and let his forehead thump down against the shitty dining room table they’d found in a dumpster in downtown LA. Calum kept insisting there were bloodstains on it, but Ashton chose to hope it was tomato sauce, instead.

“Shower’s free.”

Ashton picked his head up, and had to pry their gas bill off of his face to see Calum, a towel wrapped low around his hips and water dripping down his chest.

And that was Ashton’s biggest problem, right there.

Because if it wasn’t bad enough that he hadn’t had a proper meal in a few days, and they were behind on their bills, his goddamn infuriating crush on Calum was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and he didn’t _need_ this.

He didn’t need Calum, dripping onto their shitty carpet and pressing a q-tip gently into his ear and looking like a glistening, tanned god. He also didn’t need the guilt he felt because he was _older_ , and he’d assured Calum’s parents that he’d take care of their son, and now Ashton was doing just the opposite.

“You okay?”

Ashton sighed, nibbling on his bottom lip and contemplated keeping their money woes to himself.

“Ash?”

Ashton made a face. “Get dressed. Then I’ll tell you.”

Calum shrugged and padded down the short hall to his bedroom – the one where the door didn’t shut properly and the carpet was kind of brown in places – and Ashton let out a soft sigh.

At least Calum wasn’t standing in front of him half naked anymore, but that didn’t ease Ashton’s worries at all.

He was still staring intently at the overdue bills when Calum reappeared, in boxer shorts and one of Ashton’s t-shirts that he wore significantly better than Ashton did himself.

“It’s the money, isn’t it?” he asked, slumping down in the mismatched seat beside Ashton. “We’re late?”

Ashton wanted to cover the bills, to hide Calum from the mess they were in, but he was caught. “Yeah.”

“How bad?” Calum asked, reaching out and took a few of the statements. “Shit,” he whispered softly, his eyes scanning the pages.

“We’re okay,” Ashton tried. “If we don’t pay the rent this month, we can catch up with the gas company, and then if we pay rent _next_ month, we’ll be a month behind on our power.”

“That’s not the definition of okay,” Calum joked softly, a gentle smile on his face.

“I know,” Ashton sighed. “I’m really sorry, Cal.”

Calum shrugged and set the statements down. “It’s not just you. I just hate to think that maybe our parents were right. We should’ve waited and come over with Michael and Luke.”

Ashton made a face. “Don’t say that too loudly, my mum will hear you.”

Calum grinned. “We’ll be okay,” he nodded resolutely, as if that’s all they needed.

“Yeah,” Ashton agreed weakly. “I mean, we should pay rent this month, and if we don’t buy food, we can pay half of the overdue gas bill.”

Calum pressed his lips together and picked up the statements again, and shuffled through them, almost nervously.

Ashton picked up on it immediately, because Calum never usually hesitated in saying what he wanted to say. So Ashton dug his toe into the soft skin on Calum’s knee, raising a brow when his best friend looked up.

“I –“ Calum began, then sighed. “I have an idea about the food situation,” he said in a rush. “It’s really stupid, and probably really fucking sketchy, but we’re desperate….”

Ashton was intrigued, if not a little anxious, but he made sure his face held a neutral expression. “What?”

Calum sighed. “Okay, so, there’s this guy at work who was telling me that his sister and her boyfriend used to go out for dinner, and he’d like, propose to her so they’d get their food for free.”

Ashton heard him.

It wasn’t like he’d suddenly lost the ability to hear, because he most certainly heard every word Calum had said, but processing it was something else entirely. Because in Ashton’s crush-drunk mind, it sounded kind of romantic, or sweet or possibly insane because Ashton was _nuts_.

“Say something.”

“Uhhh,” Ashton mumbled out. “What?”

“It’s stupid,” Calum repeated. “But I thought, we need to fucking eat, okay? And it’s morally _horrible_ but I’m _hungry_ , and like, we’ll only do it once.”

“Like,” Ashton began, frowning. “Like _where_?”

“Where what?”

“Do we walk into Olive Garden, or set our sights lower with KFC or McDonalds?”

Calum took a moment to respond, a slow smile crawling onto his face. “You’re in?”

“Dude, I’m _starving_ ,” Ashton laughed, sitting back in his seat. “I’ll go down on one knee for you.”

Calum laughed. “Jesus, since when are _you_ the one who gets to propose?”

“Because I called it first!” Ashton demanded.

Calum rolled his eyes. “Like, I don’t know how legit we have to be, if there’s a ring involved or a big long speech…”

Ashton looked down at his hands, and the simple silver ring he wore. He twisted it off his finger and held it up to show Calum, and reached over for his friend’s hand, and awkwardly jammed it on his ring finger.

That was about when Ashton started to sweat, his breath coming a little faster because he was essentially holding Calum’s hand, and he’d done something so super intimate like put a _ring_ on his goddamn _finger_ , and maybe he wasn’t emotionally strong enough to fake propose to his best friend in KFC.

“Fits,” Calum said, wiggling his fingers. “At least we have that down.”

“And I can like,” Ashton said, swallowing thickly. “I can wing a romantic proposal.”

Calum grinned, his eyes crinkling. “I look forward to it.”

He eased the ring off and got up, heading in the direction of his room once more.

“Hey, where are you going?”

Calum threw a look at Ashton over his shoulder. “To get dressed. I’m getting proposed to and enjoying some free chicken, bitch.”

**

Ashton rubbed his sweaty palms down the legs of his black skinny jeans and tried not to swallow, this throat already as dry as the desert. He was sitting in his car beside Calum, who was fiddling with the radio from the passenger seat, trying to tune into their favourite station in the piece of shit car that Ashton really shouldn’t have wasted his money on, in hindsight.

They’re sitting in the KFC parking lot, and had been for the last ten minutes, because Ashton was having some sort of internal crisis that he couldn’t quite solve.

It was because he knew what they were going to do was _wrong_ , that it would make his mother snort and shake her head at him, and insist she’d raised him better than this.

And she wouldn’t be wrong, because this was probably the sketchiest, dishonest thing he’d ever done – and he doesn’t count the fact he’s been lying to Calum for _years_ about just being _bros_ , either – and while the idea of getting to hold Calum’s hand and fake a romantic proposal full of things that weren’t fake at all was _amazing,_ Ashton was just too morally sound to do such a thing.

“We don’t have to,” Calum said softly, breaking through the soft sound of white noise on the shitty radio, and cutting into Ashton’s confusing thoughts.

“No,” he said softly, because they were both so fucking _hungry_ , he just couldn’t very well explain to Calum that his heart was going to take a beating tonight, because it was only going to last however long they were in the restaurant, and Ashton was incredibly sad that the only way he was ever going to have Calum like this, would be a lie.

“Ash,” Calum smiled, reaching across to pat his hand. “I get it, okay? You think Joy would be super happy her only son is about to deceive some teenagers in KFC?”

Ashton snorted softly and relaxed just a little. “What happens if they don’t buy it, and we don’t get it for free?”

Calum’s stomach growled at the perfect time, and he laughed. “I don’t care at this point. Fuck the gas bill, I _need_ this meal.”

Ashton nodded resolutely, turning his key in the ignition and the car sputtered and powered down. “Right, let’s do this.”

Calum was almost gleeful, throwing off his seat belt and climbed out of the car, thumping the door shut soundly.

Ashton was slower, trying to calm his frantic heart, and twisted the key in the door to lock his car. He rounded it to Calum’s side, and his stomach dropped when he felt Calum’s fingers grip onto his.

“Gotta look realistic, right?”

Ashton nodded dumbly, looking down to see how awkward their fingers looked, Ashton’s index and middle finger jammed between Calum’s thumb and index finger, the grip entirely unfamiliar and Ashton would almost prefer to sever the contact completely, because how was he meant to concentrate when Calum was holding his _hand_?

“I’m getting popcorn chicken _and_ those amazing tenders they have,” Calum said excitedly, giving Ashton’s hand a quick squeeze before letting go, shoving his hands in his pockets. “And one of those huge ass drinks.”

“That you won’t finish,” Ashton pointed out, thinking a little clearer now that he had his hand back. “We’ll share a drink.”

“You’re _proposing_ ,” Calum reminded him softly as they entered the restaurant. “I want my own drink.”

Ashton rolled his eyes, but wasn’t able to keep the fond smile off of his face.

They got into line behind two other couples, and Ashton was stuck with the dilemma of _when_. Because he didn’t have the cash to pay up front for their food, but was it really fucking weird to propose _in line_?

“I think you should do it now,” Calum said softly, his mouth suddenly near Ashton’s ear. “I don’t have the cash.”

Ashton chuckled softly, and nodded his head. He could feel his silver ring burning a hole in the tight pocket of his jeans, and he shuddered to think of what their friends would say if they knew what they were about to do.

“Now,” Calum hissed as the first couple ordered and paid and stepped out of the line.

Ashton nodded, jamming his hand into his pocket to pull out the ring, almost letting it drop to the floor. He sucked in a breath and looked over at Calum, at his insistent brown eyes, and Ashton suddenly wished he hadn’t pulled dibs on doing the proposing.

“Next.”

Ashton looked at the cashier who looked a little bored, and the couple in front of them were no longer there. They were next, and Ashton was holding on to the ring in his hand so tightly he knew he had to do it.

“Just, a second,” he said disjointedly, turning back to Calum, whose brown eyes were full of bemusement. Ashton sent a mental _fuck you_ to him, and sucked in a slow, shaking breath. “Cal,” he began, and hated how strangled he sounded. “It’s been a crazy five years together,” he bullshitted, resisting the urge to look at the cashier. “I’ve been in love with you for the whole five years, and I know this isn’t New Years in New York like you wanted, but it’s me, and it’s you and I really want,” Ashton said in a rush, and dropped down onto one knee on the gross, sticky floor of KFC, and let the next words out in one breath. “I really want you to marry me.”

Calum, to his credit, played his part _perfectly_. Ashton swore he could see unshed tears glittering in his eyes, and a smile stretched across his face and he let out a soft, inhuman squeak.

“Really?”

Ashton nodded dumbly, opening his hand to reveal the ring. “Will you marry me, Cal?”

Calum nodded quickly, so hard and fast he had to have given himself whiplash. “Of course I will! I love you so much!”

Calum dragged Ashton up off the floor bodily, helping him slide the silver ring onto his own finger before he was flinging himself into Ashton’s arms and squeezing him tight.

Ashton was _relieved_ , and was only barely aware of the other patrons clapping, and the bewildered look on the faces of the cashiers.

“Nailed it,” Calum whispered into his neck, and Ashton laughed, squeezing him tightly.

Ashton wasn’t sure how long he stood there, his hands splayed against Calum’s back, holding him as tightly as he dared. It felt natural, and even though he knew it wasn’t something he could get used to, Ashton let himself have it, if only until the cashier cleared their throat.

He let go of Calum slowly to see the cashier smiling.

“Congratulations!” he said, looking decidedly more awake now.

“Thanks!” Calum laughed, staying close, rubbing Ashton’s chest. “It’s a complete shock! Babe!”

Ashton laughed too, nuzzling his nose against Calum’s jaw for just a second.

“Well, consider your first meal as an engaged couple on the house!”

Ashton felt relief wash through him as they both surged towards the cashier, and he tried to hold himself back from over ordering, but Calum’s excitement for the free food was contagious and he found himself ordering a doublicous _and_ some nuggets.

They sat at a table in the back, giggling and sharing the massive drink Calum ordered, and Ashton let himself get swept away in the idea of having exactly what he wanted.

And maybe putting a ring on Calum’s finger was something he’d never really thought about, but it made something stir inside of him, and it made leaving the restaurant ten times harder, and when Calum slipped the ring off in the car, Ashton’s heart broke.

But he supposed all it was, was a free meal.

He forced a smile on his face, and drove Calum home.

**

Ashton gets over it.

He’s pretty sure he gets a stomach ache from all he ate at KFC and that helped in his horrible pining over Calum, and before he knew it, a week had passed and he was staring at his phone with a deep frown on his face, because there was no _way_ he’d been short paid.

Because how the hell were they ever going to break even if taking one day off meant he’d be short by sixty bucks? He’d taken the day off because John Feldman had called, and they’d met for coffee and he’d listened to the veteran producer talk about music for two hours, only to receive a very polite, _you’re not ready, buddy_ and a business card with John’s details on it, and instructions to call in another few months.

He hadn’t the heart to tell Calum, or Michael or Luke, and he took the kind criticism personally – like he always did – and it had been hanging onto him ever since he’d seen John earlier in the week.

And now, with a shitty pay slip reminding him they couldn’t pay off what they owed for the gas bill, it felt like he’d hit rock bottom.

So when Calum came in from a long day at work, looking as tired as Ashton felt, he didn’t have the heart to tell him.

“You okay?”

Ashton had moved to the couch while Calum was changing out of his button down shirt, and he didn’t know what to say to his roommate.

“It’s either money or work,” Calum told him softly, sitting beside Ashton and tucked his legs underneath himself. “Spill.”

“I got short paid,” Ashton sighed. “There’s no money for the gas.”

“Oh.”

Ashton nodded, looking at a loose thread on the couch cushion. “I’m really sorry, Cal.”

“Hey,” Calum said softly, reaching over to nudge his shoulder gently. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not,” Ashton insisted. “Because we’re only going backwards and it feels like this isn’t going to _work_.”

“So let’s go back to Sydney.”

Ashton looked over at him, to see an indignant expression on Calum’s face.

“We knew this was going to be hard,” Calum insisted. “I never once thought we’d live the dream, and I was okay with that, because we’d be together. I know it’s taken longer than we thought, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

“Yeah, but –“

“But nothing,” Calum interrupted. “Luke and Michael will be here soon and it’ll be easier, and we’ll get the band happening.”

Ashton’s gut twisted, and he knew he should tell Calum about his meeting with John, but it would sound so cold, like their dreams were over, and Ashton just couldn’t do it.

“We could always hit up another KFC.”

Ashton laughed softly. “I’m in the mood for burgers.”

“Johnny Rockets, then,” Calum grinned. “We have options.”

“Getting fake engaged was meant to be a one-time thing.”

“Aren’t all rash decisions supposed to be? C’mon, just once more?”

Ashton didn’t know how he crumbled so quickly, but Calum just leapt off the couch to put on pants before ushering him out the door, and for the second time in a week, Ashton got engaged to Calum – in the Johnny Rockets near the Farmers Market in Hollywood.

**

They get fake engaged four more times that week.

Ashton thought he had it under control, but they’d already been to two different KFC’s and even tried their luck at Carls’ Jnr. The guilt he felt at basically _stealing_ food wore off, because he started sleeping a little sounder, his belly fuller.

It gave him more energy, made all the other shitty parts of his life easier to deal with, and it bought him and Calum closer together, which Ashton wasn’t opposed to.

It was like their dirty little secret, and Ashton didn’t hesitate to agree whenever Calum would turn his deep, dark eyes on him, and they’d wordlessly get into Ashton’s car and end up wherever their stomachs would take them.

And for the first time since they started their fake engagements, Ashton was the first to initiate the next one.

He’d had a particularly shitty day at work, getting hip checked by Jack Barakat was just the icing on the cake to remind him that his idols were living the life he so badly wanted, so by the time he got home, he was tense with anger and disappointment and he wanted to stuff his face and go to bed.

Calum was already home, lazing around on the couch looking at his phone – their cable had been cut off the week before – and he’d raised a brow when Ashton slammed the door to their apartment.

“Olive Garden,” Ashton bit out, dropping his bag on the floor and tugged his t-shirt off. “Be ready in five.”

**

“This is way fancier than we’ve tried before,” Calum whispered softly as he followed Ashton into Olive Garden.

Ashton knew that, and while he hadn’t cared the entire drive to the restaurant, now he was worried that maybe they were in over their head. If he’d had to have paid for their dinner at KFC or Taco Bell, he could’ve, but paying at Olive Garden would put them ten steps back.

But he was still mad at the world; mad at the maître d who stood by the door and smiled graciously before leading them to a small table in the back. Mad at Jack Barakat and John Feldman and his mum and _himself_ and he just wanted to drown himself in pasta.

“Ash,” Calum said softly as their waiter moved from their table after taking their drink orders. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Ashton nodded, even though he wasn’t, and picked up the menu.

Calum bit his bottom lip before grabbing the other one, and flipped it open.

Ashton’s vision blurred, and he tried to keep a lid on his anger and disappointment, because he was going to have to pull off the biggest fake proposal yet, even though he didn’t think he could muster a sincere smile if he tried.

“We don’t have to,” Calum said softly, setting his menu down.

“Cal,” Ashton sighed.

“No, you’ve had a bad day,” Calum said softly, reaching across the table to skate his fingers over Ashton’s. “And I get that you think you’re failing me or whatever, but we’re in this together. I don’t blame you for anything, Ash.”

Ashton sighed. “I told your mum I’d take care of you.”

“And I don’t need you too,” Calum insisted. “I’m not that much younger than you, and for some reason you’ve taken me on like I’m your kid, and I’m not.”

“You’re my best friend.”

“And you’re mine,” Calum told him. “Can you please just push aside all the responsibility you feel and have a nice meal with me?”

Ashton managed a tiny smile and let his shoulders droop, letting out a soft sigh. “Yeah, okay.”

Their waiter returned soon after with their drinks, and they both placed their orders. Ashton was kind of lost in his own head, aware of the silver ring in his pocket, and he knew Calum was right; this had to be one hell of a proposal.

He waited until dessert, until two warm slices of chocolate cake sat in front of them before Ashton got up from his seat on shaky legs.

He tried not to pay attention to anything but Calum, the slight blush high on his cheeks and the small smudge of tomato sauce on the corner of his mouth. He took his hand and slid down onto one knee, fishing the ring out of his pocket.

He was aware of conversation around them stilling somewhat, the restaurant busy with people. Ashton tried not to let that influence him, but it was hard to shake off.

“Cal,” he almost whispered, his thumb rubbing a slow circle on Calum’s palm. “I’m not perfect, and our life isn’t perfect, and I know that moving here with me was the biggest gamble of your life. I’m so grateful you trusted me enough to come, and that you’re sticking with me.”

“Ash,” Calum whispered out softly.

“I love you,” Ashton said honestly, and knew the words weren’t forced, that every word he was saying was true. “Even if sometimes I think you deserve better. I’m just so…lucky to have you. And I want to make you feel lucky to have me.”

Calum sniffed, biting down on his bottom lip.

Ashton extended his other hand with the ring laying in it, and it was like he was looking at it for the first time. _This_ time was different, and he noticed the shake of Calum’s fingers when he gave them a gentle squeeze.

“Make the dumbest move of your life and marry me.”

It was like all the other diners sucked in a breath at the same time, hinging on Calum’s answer. And to his credit, Calum looked like he was on the verge of tears, reaching out one hand to run his knuckles gently over Ashton’s jaw. “You’re so stupid,” he said fondly. “But you’re not a dumb move. You’re the right move, so of course I’ll marry you.”

People started clapping, more people than Ashton was aware of, and he felt relief flood him and he slipped the ring on Calum’s finger and eased onto both knees to lean in to hug him.

Calum laughed softly, into his neck, squeezing him softly before pulling back.

Ashton wanted to hold onto him for longer, wanted to let out a sigh and bask in the glow of getting engaged, but he didn’t have a second to pull him back in before Calum’s dry lips were brushing against his.

He tried not to react with absolute shock and awe, and it took Ashton a second to know he should kiss back, and he did, reaching up to cup Calum’s jaw and deepened the kiss just a little, feeling Calum respond eagerly.

He was a good actor, Ashton would give him that.

But the longer the kiss went on, the more damage it was doing to Ashton’s heart. Because this was too far for him to go, because there was no coming back from the love pulsing through Ashton’s veins.

It was only stronger when Calum pulled away to press another soft kiss to his lips, their noses nudging together.

“I’m,” he whispered, his hands on Ashton’s shoulder.

“Ssh,” Ashton whispered back, and kissed him again, soft little pecks to his lips and the corner of his mouth.

Calum sighed, nuzzling his nose against Ashton’s cheek as the applause died down and everyone went back to their food.

But they were locked in the moment, with Ashton on his knees and Calum awkwardly bent over to stay close to him. It felt like if Ashton pulled away, the spell would be broken, that things between them would go back to just being friends, and he realized that this stupid fake proposal idea was detrimental to his health.

“Ash, I’m sorry,” Calum whispered quickly.

Ashton pulled back a little to look into Calum’s eyes that were stormy with confusion.

“For kissing you, I know that’s not part of the deal.”

“I, oh, okay,” Ashton whispered.

“You just said some really beautiful things and I guess I just went with it.”

“So you only kissed me because of the fake proposal?”

Calum looked distressed for a moment, his hands squeezing Ashton’s shoulders gently. “I, shit, I don’t know.”

Ashton’s eyebrows went up. “What does that mean?”

Calum pulled his hands away, and twisted the ring on his ring finger. “I just…you’ve said some really amazing things to me over the last bit, and I guess I’ve just been sort of… _feeling_ things.”

Ashton’s knees were starting to ache, but the only thing he could focus on was the sharp thump of his heart, and the way Calum looked positively sick in front of him.

“I never meant for this to happen,” Calum whispered, looking more and more like a kicked puppy. “Oh my God, I’m ruining our friendship.”

“Hey, no, stop,” Ashton said softly, his hands on Calum’s thighs. “It’s me, okay? You can talk to me.”

“I can’t,” Calum stressed. “Because I think I have feelings for you.”

“Good,” Ashton said resolutely, his heart in his throat. “I have feelings for you, too.”

Calum swallowed, blinked and jolted a little in his seat, his eyes going wide. “Wait, what?”

Ashton eased up off his knees and took his seat, reaching out for Calum’s hand across the table. “This fake proposal thing has really messed with me,” he admitted softly. “Because I’ve kind of…sorta like, _loved you_ for the last few years.”

“You _what_?” Calum demanded, his voice low.

“John Feldman isn’t interested,” Ashton blurted out. “I took a day off from work to meet with him and he said our demo needs work, that we’re not ready.”

Calum frowned. “Okay?”

“Our money situation is in the toilet, and even if Michael and Luke move in tomorrow, we’re still not going to have next month’s rent.”

“Ash, what does this have to do with anything?”

“I’m being honest,” Ashton stressed. “Because I just told you the biggest secret I had, and I figured those smaller ones won’t be as hard to hear after I told you I love you.”

Calum swallowed. “You love me.”

“I do,” Ashton nodded. “And I feel like I should apologize.”

“Why?” Calum asked. “I’m pretty much saying I feel the same way.”

Ashton felt his heart start to race. “Are you sure it’s not the proposals?”

“I thought it might be,” Calum confessed. “Until tonight. Because tonight, I knew you were telling the truth.”

Ashton let out a soft laugh. “Jesus, we went about this the wrong way.”

Calum got up out of his seat and rounded the table to ease himself onto Ashton’s lap, and even though it was awkward and he didn’t know where to put his hands, it felt kind of natural, even as Ashton’s hands settled on his hips.

“I really am sorry for how shitty things have been.”

“I really don’t care,” Calum mumbled softly. “You just told me you loved me.”

Ashton laughed softly. “I did, yeah.”

Calum pressed a soft kiss to Ashton’s cheek and got up, taking his seat once more. He picked up his fork and dug it into his slice of forgotten cake, and shot Ashton a wicked grin. “For what it’s worth, I’m pretty sure I love you too.”

**

When the bill comes, the couple behind them waves and Ashton sees the words _paid in full_ scrawled across the bottom of it, underneath the total of almost eighty dollars.

The couple is older, and they wish them a long and happy marriage before Ashton stands and takes Calum’s hand, and they walk hand in hand to Ashton’s shitty car, and when Calum doesn’t immediately take off the ring once they were safe inside, Ashton certainly wasn’t unhappy about that.

Turns out the fake proposal idea wasn’t such a bad one after all.

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at Cashton, and thanks to this prompt from Tumblr, I smashed this out in just a few short hours! I hope everyone enjoys it!
> 
> Thanks to Nim for fueling my Cashton obsession! <3
> 
> xoxo


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